Its Snowing! (on Mars)

[Eagle]

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/sep/HQ_08246_Phoenix.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080929.html

A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars has detected snow from clouds about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow vaporizing before reaching the ground.

Neat!

 

[tblaxland]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080929.html

Neat!

There may even be some on the ground for Christmas!

 

[Andy44]

Fascinating news. I wonder if the snow reaches the ground farther north on the ice cap.

Can't wait to see if the microphone works.

 

[ryan]

I love Mars you think you understand it (its dry and desolate) then it surprises you by snowing, it might even be a kind of winter on mars now.

 

[garyw]

I love Mars you think you understand it (its dry and desolate) then it surprises you by snowing, it might even be a kind of winter on mars now.

Mars has seasons like Earth so one hemisphere will be heading towards winter and one towards summer.

 

[Kyle]

Wonder if the first man on mars will have to take a day off due to a Snow Day.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Wonder if the first man on mars will have to take a day off due to a Snow Day.

Since there will be few people to do the work instead of him, I believe that his activity will be more like:

 

[tblaxland]

I love Mars you think you understand it (its dry and desolate) then it surprises you by snowing, it might even be a kind of winter on mars now.

The northern hemisphere (where Phoenix is) had its summer solstice earlier this year (June, IIRC). Since a Mars year is approx two Earth years, Phoenix would be experiencing autumn at present, leading into winter mid '09.

 

[Alex01]

I love Mars you think you understand it (its dry and desolate) then it surprises you by snowing, it might even be a kind of winter on mars now.

This means a lot. This means that Mars might indeed have an active climate. Well according to my knowledge of course. If there is Snow, then there might be a different, but there might be a water cycle.

Beings like Extremophiles might be present. Mars just keeps surprising us, when will the big one come?

 

[ar81]

I see, that proves my theory where Santa came from Mars...
Polar ice melting due to Global Warming have not resulted in the exposure of Santa to human satellites...
That's because he works on the polar ice on Mars...

How does he deliver gifts in a few minutes?
Containers that fit into chimneys are dropped from orbit...

:rofl:

 

[EJ316]

Snow on Mars?! Seems like a paradox to me as I view Mars as like dry deserts and stuff. Why would the snow vaporize before it reaches the ground?

 

[SiberianTiger]

Snow on Mars?! Seems like a paradox to me as I view Mars as like dry deserts and stuff. Why would the snow vaporize before it reaches the ground?

Because it was a Carbon Dioxide snow. It's still too hot for that stuff on the ground.

 

[EJ316]

Because it was a Carbon Dioxide snow. It's still too hot for that stuff on the ground.

I see. Carbon Dioxide snow isn't very nice, it's actually quite sinister compared to normal snow. I assume a snowball fight is out of the question

 

[SiberianTiger]

I see. Carbon Dioxide snow isn't very nice, it's actually quite sinister compared to normal snow. I assume a snowball fight is out of the question

I doubt one can shape a snowball on Mars even out of a water snow. Snow has to be wet, near the melting point: it's hardly an existent condition of snow on Mars with its low atmospheric pressure: ice on the surface would just evaporate when at temperature near the melting point.

Judging by the Phoenix findings, however, it's possible to throw clogs of clay at each other on Mars!

 

[garyw]

Don't forget that the pressure on Mars is much lower than on Earth so the boiling point for various liquids is much lower.

 

[EJ316]

Judging by the Phoenix findings, however, it's possible to throw clogs of clay at each other on Mars!

I don't think NASA would be too happy if the first astronauts they sent to Mars started having a clay ball fight, there are probably slightly more important things at hand :lol:

 

[JamesG]

The poles get persistant CO2 snowfall each winter. There might even be glaciers of it, or even really ancient glaciers/mountains of water ice there.

As for snowballs, who knows how C02 snow behaves in a cryogenic partial atmosphere?

 

[Arrowstar]

I don't think NASA would be too happy if the first astronauts they sent to Mars started having a clay ball fight, there are probably slightly more important things at hand :lol:

I'm sure they could chalk it up to therapeutic recreational activity or something. The general public might even buy it.

 

[JamesG]

I imagine wanting to run around and throw things is a perfectly natural reaction to being cooped up in a tin can for a year.